The proposed pipeline would carry oil from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada down the middle of the US to the Gulf of Mexico. Alberta’s oil sands are the largest known deposit of carbon on Earth and home to the most carbon-intensive of all fossil fuels. The environmental damage that this pipeline would cause is tremendous and as renowned climatologist James Hanson said, ‘if we burn the oil in the Canadian tar sands, it’s essentially game over for the climate.’

Bill McKibben, Co-founder of 350.org, was among the 162 people arrested outside the Whitehouse over the weekend. Acknowledging that President Obama can singlehandedly stop the pipeline plans from moving forward, McKibben is among the thousands of individuals and groups participating in a non-violent civil disobedience action at the Whitehouse. He said from his Central Cell Block ‘We don’t need your sympathy, we need more company.’